I was listening to my favorite Christian radio station the other day when, ‘It’s Christmas!’ by Mandisa started playing. I love the words to this song because, like many others, they serve as a reminder of the reason we celebrate this time of the year.

While I enjoy many of the external strands of the season, my desire is to always keep my focus on Him. This is why family traditions and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas are so important to me.

As a child I wrote my share of letters to Santa, carefully prepared the cookies and milk for his arrival, and enjoyed the parties and pictures with him.

But when I look back at the childhood traditions, the most significant thing I remember is following instructions from my parents to give them a list of three gifts that I wanted. I remember being curious as to why just three presents, and they made sure my sister and I knew the real reason and significance of the number three.

Turns out, it was a beautiful story to be shared, over and over again through the years. You see the three gifts symbolize the three gifts the Wise Men brought to Jesus. If three gifts were enough for our King, they would be enough for us.

Matthew 2:11 tells us that the Wise Men brought Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh to Baby Jesus. Each one carried special meaning and contributed to the story of the birth and life of Jesus Christ. These valuable items were highly prized gifts to honor a king.

The gift of gold symbolizes precious metal and something of great value. (So choose an item for your children that holds special meaning; it doesn’t have to be expensive to be treasured.)

The gift of frankincense is a wonderful fragrance or incense and symbolizes something spiritual because it was used in worship. (Buy your children a Bible, a worship CD, a Bible story book, or any number of other items that will help develop and grow their Christian walk.)

The gift of myrrh is an anointing oil that symbolizes something for the body. Research says myrrh was for medicinal use, and was brought to the baby Jesus for His eventual sacrifice. (For this gift, buy your children a special piece of clothing, a fragrance, or shoes—something for the body.)

While I never considered any of my three gift requests to be grand or highly prized, I always believed my parents put real thought into each present they selected. They were everything I wanted, needed and in many cases, cherished.

So how do we teach our children and others this same significance of the three gifts? How can our traditions assist us in building future generations of believers who honor Jesus?

We can always ensure a lot of the red, green and all the trimmings, but how can we lead our children and others to celebrate THE REAL REASON FOR THE SEASON? Let me encourage you to be a part of building a nation of Christians that celebrate Christ at every turn.

Click on comments at the top of this post and share your family traditions, favorite scriptures, and celebrations that will encourage all of us to seek Jesus and honor Him this Christmas season.

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Comments

Mitzi,
What a wonderful way to create a meaningful tradition! Your parents were so wise. Most of my children are grown now, but I will certainly be passing this along to them to share with my grandchildren.

Isaiah 9:6-7 is one of my favorite verses to serve as a reminder of what a wonderful gift we received in Jesus.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Yesterday, our preacher used “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” to illustrate one of his points about the meaning of Christmas. I had never really thought about the lyrics to that particular song before, but they are so good!

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

It’s easy to get caught up in the “things” of Christmas, but I think my favorite Christmas traditions involve time spent with my parents and family.

Welcome!

Hi! I'm Mitzi and I am so excited you are here. My prayer is that you will find this a place to be encouraged and nourished. I believe with all my heart that the joy of the journey is learning His Word together.

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